Dustin Poirier regrets missed opportunity to fight UFC legend in his prime
Despite still being considered one of the best 155lbers in the sport, Dustin Poirier has been fighting for over a decade under the UFC banner, facing almost everyone of note in his division. However, one missed fight opportunity still disappoints him.
'The Diamond' has become a real household name over the past few years and is rightfully seen as a must-watch fighter each and every time he steps into the cage. You'd likely have to cycle through many of his bouts before you find one that's not filled with high-intensity, explosiveness, and unmissable entertainment.
While discussing a dream matchup during a Q&A with US Weekly, Dustin Poirier highlighted former two-division champion and UFC Hall-of-Famer B.J. Penn as someone he would have loved to stand across the octagon from during his prime.
"I would have loved to fight a prime B.J. Penn."
B.J. Penn had a rough ending to his career in the sport, losing each of his last seven fights and suffering multiple knockout losses in that time. Prior to his poor stint, he was believed to be the best fighter to ever compete at lightweight throughout his prime and proved that with some outstanding displays in the cage.
The Hawaiin has twice been a head coach on The Ultimate Fighter — across from both Jens Pulver and Frankie Edgar, respectively — though the furthest any of his team reached was the semifinals.
Incredibly, Penn has headlined some of the promotion's biggest-ever cards in terms of pay-per-view buys, with his fight at UFC 101 against Kenny Florian hitting 850,000 and a previous clash against Georges St-Pierre scoring 920,000 buys.
Although 'The Prodigy' retired from MMA with an unflattering record of 16-14-2, he enjoyed a lot of success and remains one of the legends who helped shape the sport.
#OnThisDay in 2009...
@GeorgesStPierre and BJ Penn went to war for the second time! https://t.co/CDeGlAPOSu
What's next for Dustin Poirier?
Dustin Poirier weathered the storm and scored a phenomenal submission victory over Michael Chandler last time out, firmly putting his name back into title contention.
While he respects Beneil Dariush, the 33-year-old isn't thrilled at the thought of facing the tough lightweight. With that, rumors are beginning to circulate that the former interim champion may be matched up with Justin Gaethje.
The two met each other back in 2018 in a clash that was given fight of the year honors and could potentially provide one of the two brawlers with a title shot should they compete in a highly anticipated rematch sometime next year.